Friday, May 27, 2016

A series of
celestial events taking place between the 24th and 28th of August, 2016 promise
the potential for severe weather that may be tropical in nature. Key
astronomical charts used in long-range weather forecasting place the planetary
alignments involving Mars, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, and Jupiter over
hurricane-prone sectors of the US East Coast.

The
Mars-Saturn conjunction of August 24th begins the parade of celestial
harbingers. As seen from the astro-locality map below, their area of influence,
represented by the yellow lines, takes in the North Carolina and Virginia
coasts and into the Northeast. More importantly, the crossing of these lines
with the black line representing the influence of Neptune focuses their
energies about 250 miles off the coast of central Florida.

The
alignments of Mars, Saturn, and Neptune have been observed to correspond with
atmospheric turbulence, destructive, windy storms, and low pressure systems fed
by tropical moisture, which can be of greater significance when occurring
during hurricane season.

The second
astro-locality map shows the positions of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction of
August 27th represented by the blue lines over the New England area. These
lines also converge with the Mars and Saturn white lines south of New England.
Lastly, the Neptune line, shown in yellow, affects the Florida Panhandle
northward through the East Central US into the central Great Lakes region.

August 24-28, 2016

Taken
together, during the forecast period, the US East Central section is likely to
experience a bout of strong storms that push through the area towards the East
Coast. One likely scenario shows the development of a tropical system off the
coast of Florida which would then travel in parallel to the coast with a strong
chance of affecting the New England area. A second scenario calls for tropical
moisture, that doesn't develop into an organized tropical system, to be pulled
northward over the Carolinas fueling storms that affect the Mid-Atlantic,
Northeast, and New England areas.

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Sunday, May 22, 2016

June 2016 will provide an opportunity to confirm the pluvial nature the planet Neptune is said to exercise on weather patterns. The geographical areas that fall under the influence of Neptune in key weather charts have been observed to experience southerly, moist, air flows that increase humidity resulting in intense downpours and flooding potential.

On the 13th of June, Neptune will make its retrograde station which is a key event in triggering the above mentioned atmospheric conditions. The 17th of June features the square aspect between Saturn and Neptune which also excites deep low pressure systems that result in higher than average rainfall. Then, on the 20th of June, Mercury will oppose Saturn and square Neptune activating their influence once again. In a minute we'll look at the areas that will be affected this year. But first, let's see what happened to atmospheric conditions the last time Neptune made it retrograde station and the last time Saturn squared Neptune.

On June 12, 2015, Neptune made its retrograde station. In the key seasonal chart, Neptune's influence affected the eastern Plains states roughly from Louisiana northward through Minnesota. As can be seen from the Accuweather map below this is the exact area that experienced widespread localized flooding from June 13-15, 2016. This was in part due the Tropical Storm Bill that hit Texas at that time and continued northward.

The last Saturn-Neptune square occurred on November 26, 2015. Neptune's influence affected the Mississippi Valley and eastward while Saturn's influence affected the Eastern Seaboard. The National Weather Service forecast for Nov 27-29, 2015 warned, "Flash flooding possible across portions of the southern plains
and mid-Mississippi valley." Their forecast for Nov 29th stated, "Scattered to numerous rain showers is forecast northeast Texas to central Virginia where 3-day totals of 1 to 5 inches will be possible. Locally higher amounts may be observed in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina."

Forecast
This year Neptune will occupy the 82nd line of west longitude running from Florida through Ohio. This area will likely be subjected to heavy rainfall that produces widespread flooding as we've seen in last year's example. Since we're in hurricane season, we can rule out a tropical system at this time. The weather pattern will then travel eastward and affect the US East Coast.

In other key charts, the US West Coast is also affected by Neptune and Saturn. June is not as rainy as other months out west but we may see some anomalous weather pattern develop over the Pacific Northwest especially around the end of the forecast period (19th - 21st). This may be something like a dramatic increase in temperatures and humidity or an anomalous low pressure system.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

On April 2nd of this year, I published some long-range weather forecasts for May 2016. These forecasts discussed the likely weather patterns that would result from the Sun-Mercury conjunction of May 9th, and the Mercury-Venus conjunction of May 13th. Here are the results.

May 8-13, 2016

Forecast
The forecast stated that "we should expect a strong cold front or storm system bringing windy conditions to the area from the eastern Plains through the east central US."

Results
On the 8th, Accuweather headlines read "Severe storms to strike central US through early week" These storms, according to Accuweather, were to begin on Sunday the 8th into Monday the 9th. The Accuweather map below shows the area to be affected which was the area specified in the forecast.

Severe storms and tornadoes continued to threaten the forecast area on the 9th and shown in the next Accuweather map.

Storms began to move into the east central US as was forecast. On Tuesday the 10th, Accuweather reported that "the threat of severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes, will expand into the Ohio Valley into Tuesday night." The following Accuweather map shows the danger zone.

The next forecast was for the western US.

May 12-15, 2016Forecast We may expect an increase in temperatures and in shower and thunderstorm activity at this time over the US West.

Results
On May 11th, Accuweather meteorologists began to see the coming increase in temperatures that would affect the US West starting on Friday, May 13th. They announced "Temperatures to soar to record-challenging levels by late this week." Here's their map depicting temperatures 10 to 25 degrees above normal.

As far as the shower and thunderstorm activity that was also predicted in the long-range forecast, the National Weather Service reported on the 13th that "Showers and thunderstorms will increase across the Pacific Northwest tonight as a frontal boundary and upper-level disturbance move onshore. On Saturday (May 14th), showers and thunderstorms will spread into the interior Northwest and the northern Intermountain West as the system moves inland."

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Planetary cycles involving Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune come to a head in June of this year. In this post, we'll look at the period of June 1-5. The combination of Saturn and Neptune is known to bring heavier than average precipitation. Jupiter and Neptune alignments also bring low pressure and abnormally wet weather, and Jupiter-Saturn configurations signify intense downfall. The Moon, on the 3rd and 4th of June is at perigee or its closest approach to Earth. This normally intensifies weather patterns.

A number of key charts places their influence over the eastern portion of the US from the Mississippi Valley through the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The central and eastern Gulf of Mexico is emphasized as well.

Taken together, we can expect an outbreak of severe thunderstorms over this portion of the country. Tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will most likely be imported up over the area fueling thunderstorms that potentially can trigger heavy downpours. Since the Atlantic hurricane season is now underway, it is plausible that an actual tropical system develops now.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Here are the results of the second portion of my April 2016 long-range weather forecast that was posted on March 16th of this year. This forecast focused on the effect that the Jupiter-Uranus alignment would have on the weather over eastern US and on the West Coast states. The results of the first forecast (April 6-10) are posted here.

The next forecast period was for April 22-25. The forecast read as follows.

April 22-25

At this time Venus aligns with the Jupiter-Uranus configuration and is likely to represent another round of fronts for the West Coast states and the eastern U.S.

Results

On April 21st, the AccuWeather headline read, "Rain to end record warmth across US West Coast by late week."

The following AccuWeather map shows their forecast for April 21st and 22nd. Notice the low pressure area approaching California with rain, snow, and showers. Meteorologists pointed out that some of these storms could become strong and produce locally damaging winds and heavy rainfall.

The next AccuWeather map shows their forecast for April 24th. Here we see rain, showers, and snow affecting the Pacific Northwest. They pointed out that moderate to heavy rain could reach parts of western Washington and Oregon.

The next map from the Weather Channel is for April 21st and shows a cold front beginning to penetrate the eastern US. The National Weather Service reported a low pressure system will begin to move steadily toward the eastern US bringing a good chance of showers and thunderstorms that would end the week-long dry spell. The front continued its way across the eastern US on the 22nd.